If you manage a vacation rental property, you're probably familiar with the major SaaS (software as a service) platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com. While these services can be helpful in getting your property listed and booked, they come with some major drawbacks - namely, high fees and little control over the guest experience.

A self-hosted online booking engine is a great alternative to these SaaS platforms. With a self-hosted system, you'll have more control over your property listing, guest communications, and booking calendar. You'll also avoid the high fees charged by Airbnb and Booking.com, which can eat into your profits. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of a self-hosted online booking engine!

AirBNB is fast gaining a reputation of being a nightmare to use. As its reputation plummets, any businesses associated with it will find their own reputations tarnished so now is a good time for you to consider having your own online booking engine. With your own engine on your own website you can outshine the competition easily.

So, what are the benefits?

More Control Over Your Property Listing(s)

When you list your property on Airbnb or Booking.com, you're at the mercy of their platform. You can't make any major changes to your listing without their approval - and if they don't approve of your changes, you're out of luck.

With a self-hosted online booking engine, you'll have complete control over your listing. You can make whatever changes you want, whenever you want - without having to get approval from anyone. This is especially important if you need to make last-minute changes to your listing (e.g., changing the check-in time or adding additional amenities).

More Control Over Guest Communications

Another advantage of a self-hosted online booking engine is that it gives you more control over guest communications. With Airbnb and Booking.com, all communication between guests and hosts takes place through their platform - which means they have access to all of your conversations.

With a self-hosted system, guests will communicate directly with you (via email, phone or Jomres' live messaging system). This gives you more control over the conversation and ensures that all communication stays private. It also allows you to build relationships with guests - something that's difficult to do when all communication takes place through a third-party platform.

Jomres is cheaper!

With Split fees in AirBNB, if you have a super strict cancellation policy you can end up paying up to 22% in fees to AirBNB for each booking made. Even the cheapest plan with them is 3%. That may not sound like much, but it can add up, especially if you're getting a lot of bookings. When you have your own booking engine, though, you won't have to pay any fees, you'll keep 100% of the revenue from every booking made.

More Control, Full Stop

When you use Airbnb or Booking.com, you're also at the mercy of their service. If there's a problem with their system, it's up to them to fix it - not you.

With a self-hosted online booking engine, you'll have complete control over your system. If there's ever an issue with bookings, you'll be able to fix it yourself - without having to wait for someone else to do it for you. This is especially important if you need to make last-minute changes to your listing. In addition, having control over your own booking engine will allow you to offer discounts and specials that are not available on Airbnb or Booking.com.

Conclusion

There are plenty of good reasons to invest in your own online booking engine instead of using AirBNB. You'll have more control over your rates and availability, you'll be able to build direct relationships with your guests, and you won't have to pay any fees to a third-party platform. So why not give it a try? Using a self-hosted online booking engine is a great way to avoid high fees and have more control over your listing, guest communications, and policies.

You'll also be able save money and offer discounts and specials that are not available on major SaaS platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com.